ASTON, Pa.-- The Kutztown University baseball team (3-10, 0-2 PSAC East) opened conference play Friday afternoon, dropping two games of a doubleheader against No. 15 West Chester (9-0, 2-0 PSAC East) at the MSI Sports Complex in Aston.
Game one was a 11 inning pitching showcase that was won by West Chester 2-1 thanks to a walkoff single. The Golden Bears battled back in game two, but a four-run sixth inning allowed the Golden Rams to pull away 7-2 winners. The Golden Rams are the third ranked opponent that KU has faced early on this season. The Golden Bears faced only one NCBWA ranked team last season.
KU and West Chester will take Saturday off and return to North Campus Field on Sunday, March 10 to wrap up the series with a doubleheader. First pitch in game one is set for noon.
Game 1: West Chester 2, Kutztown 1 (11)
The first game of the day was an 11-inning pitcher's duel that saw the Golden Rams walk away 2-1 winners thanks to a walk-off single.
Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) had one of his best performances of the season on the bump, pitching a no-hitter through seven innings, striking out eight while allowing no earned runs. Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and Cole Regn (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) both had multi-hit games. Michael Burns (Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman) had a hit and KU's only RBI of the game. Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge), Jimmy Kerley (Indian Trail, N.C./Sun Valley), and Colin Kelly (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) had a hit each.
Neither team got on the board until the bottom of the fourth. West Chester got two runners on base thanks to an error and a hit-by-pitch to start the inning. Skrocki got the first out after a sac bunt, but the Golden Rams plated the first run of the game via a fielder's choice the next at-bat.
In the next half inning, Regn got things started with a double down the left field line and advanced the third thanks to a Brian Finn (Warrington, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) sac bunt. With two outs in the frame, Burns singled through the left side of the infield to score Regn and tie the game at one.
That was all the scoring either team did till the final inning, with both teams' pitching staffs putting on a clinic. In the bottom of the 11th, the first two Golden Rams went down without much trouble, but a walk and an error advanced the West Chester runner to third. Evan Profy singled to left center the next at-bat, plating the game-winning run for the Golden Rams.
Michael Lennon (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) took the loss for KU, while Tyler Cleveland (Pillow, Pa./Upper Dauphin) also saw time in relief. Jesse Specter earned the win for West Chester.
Game 2: West Chester 7, Kutztown 2
The Golden Bears made things close in the top of the sixth inning, but West Chester plated four runs in the bottom half of the frame to pull away for the 7-2 win.
Jason Wolff (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) had a great game at the plate, going 3-3 to win an RBI. Burns registered another one hit, one RBI performance. Martini, Kerley, and Finn had one hit each.
The Golden Rams got on the board early, scoring via an error and an RBI single from Drew Simpson to make it 2-0. Avery Spencer added another run in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 3-0.
KU got on the board in the top of the sixth. Martini started things off with a double, which was followed up by a double from Burns to make it 3-1. Two batters later, Wolff singled to score Burns and make it 3-2.
The Golden Rams responded in the bottom half of the inning to pull away. Joe Kaleck singled through the left side of the infield to plate two runs and make it 5-2. An error two batters later allowed two runs to score, which made it 7-2. KU went down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh as West Chester held on for the 7-2 win.
Paul Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) took the loss for KU, while Cody Barberio (Green Lane, Pa./Quakertown) and Abel Saft (Kintnersville, Pa./Moravian Academy) saw action in relief. Joe Sperone earned the win for West Chester.
